Tool for handling high-tension electric wires



June 5, 1928.

M. T. TIPSORD ET AL TOOL FOR HANDLING HIGH TENSION ELECTRIC WIRES Filed March 8, 1926 Patented June 5, 1928.

UNITED .STATES y 1,612,417Y PATENT ori-ICE r. Tuscan AND maar w. BoDENnIEcx, or TAYLoavILIm, xLtmoIs, Assmnoas I.ro TIr's Toor. COMPANY, nrcoaroaATan, or rAYLoavmLa, ILLnroIs, A

CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

TOOL FORiHANDLING HIGH-TENSION ELECTRIC WIRES.

Application led Iarh 8, 192. Serial llo. 93,843.

This invention relates to tools of the class knownl commercially which are used by hnemen in the operation 0f handling high tension electric wires.

5 One object of our invention is to provide a linemans tool adapted to be used for picking up and handling electric wires, that affords absolute protectionto the person using the tooland which is of 4such construction that it will automatically adapt itself to wires of various diameters.

Another object is to provide a linemans tool ofthe kind referred to that can be operatedquickly and easily to clamp or release 1'5 a wire and which is of such construction that there is no liability of the wire dropping out of the tool or becoming accidentall released when the tool is being manipulate Other objects Aand desirable features of our invention will be hereinafter pointed out.

Figure 1 of the drawings' is a vertical longitudlnal sectional view, partly in side elevation, of a linemans tool constructed in accordance with our invention.

Figures 2 and 3 are horizontal ,sectional views, taken on the lines 2 2 and'3-3, respectively, of Figure 1; and.

Figure 4 is adetail view, partly in side elevation and in vertical section, illustrating the jaws or wire gripping members of the tool closed or arranged in engagement with a Wire.

Referring to the drawings, A designates a long wooden pole or a handle formed of any suitable non-conducting material, B and C designate opposed jaws or wire gripping members arranged adjacent the upper end ofl said handle, D designates an actuating rod for moving one of said wire gri ping members relatively to the other and E esignates an operating lever mounted on the lower end portion of the handle A and connected by a link 1 or other suitable means with the lower end of the actuating rod D so as to permit the jaws or wire gripping members of the tool to be opened by swinging the lever E upwardly, as shown in Figure 1, and closed by swinging said lever downwardly. `The wire gripping members B and C are carried by a metallic head piece F mounted on the upper end of the handle A, and the actuating rod D is preferably housed in the handle A and is connected at its upper end to the wire gripping member B. In order to as hot line tools',l

afford absolute protection to the person using the tool, the actuating rod D is either constructed of insulating material or 'suitable insulating devices -are interposed be- -opposed relation to the member C' so as to enable a hot electric wire to be picked up and gripped by the tool, by first separat-- ing the jaws B and Cof the tool, then manipulating the tool so as to position the wire between said jaws, and thereafter movmg the operating lever E downwardly so as move the jaw B longitudinally of the head piece F of the tool and cause said jaw to clamp the wire against thelopposed jaw C, as shown in Figure 4. Inl order that the tool may be used for handling wires of various diameters, one of the jaws or wire grip ping members of the tool or a wire engaging portion on one of said members is backed up by a spring which permits said member or portion to move sufficiently relatively. to the other wire gripping member of the tool to accommodate a wlre of relatively small diametery or a wire of relatively great diameter and still insure the wire being securely clampedby the jaws of the tool when said jaws are in their closed position. In the form of our invention herein illustrated the wire gripping member C is conbtructed in the form of a hollow plunger that is slidingly mounted in a tubular portion of the head piece lF, and a coiled expansion spring `2Yis arranged between the upper end of said plunger and a stationary stopV 3 on the head piece F so as to normally hold the wire gripping member C in such a position that it will co-operate with the member B to firmly clamp a wire of the smallest diameter which lthe tool is capable of handling when the member B is in 'its operative posi` tion, or, in other words, after said member 105 B, has been moved towards the wire gripping member C. When the tool is being used to handle a wire of greater diameter the spring vcan yield or give according to the diameter of the wire engaged by the tool, thereby insuring the jaws of the tool exerting substan` tia-lly the same clamping pressure on wires of various diameters. While we have herein illustrated our invention embodied in a tool in which the inner jaw is backed up by al spring or other suitable resilient element and the outer jaw is connected to the operating rod that is used to close andseparate said jaws, we wish it to be understood that it is immaterial which jaw of the tool is backed up by a resilient device or provided with a wire engaging portion that is capable of'yielding slightly according to the diameter of the wire being handled, land it is also immaterial whether the actuating rodl is connected to the inner jaw or `to the outer jaw. The particular method of mounting the jaws or wire gripping members of the tool and connecting the movable jaw to its actuating means is immaterial, so far as our broad idea is concerned, but We prefer to provide the member B'- with a sleeve 4 that loosely surrounds the tubular portion of the head piece Fand provide the shank of said member B with a port-ion 5 that projects into the tubular portion of the head piece F through an elongated slot in same, the actuating rod D being threaded into the portion 5 of the member B or connected to said portion in any other preferred way. In order to limit the outward movement of the member C relatively to the tubular portion of the head piece F, said member is provided at its lower end with a lug 6 arranged in the elongated slot in the tubular portion of the head piece and adapted to strike against a stationary stop 7 on the head piece F i `when the jaws of the tool are separated, as

shown in Figure 1.4

In order thatthe operating handle E and the link 1 will not project laterally from the handle A of the tool after the jaws or wire gripping members B and C of the tool have been closed to engage the. wir 5 the handle A is provided adjacent its low r end with a longitudinally-disposed slot for receiving said link and opera-ting lever, and bin order to strengtlhen Athe slotted lportion of the handle A, a metallic reinforcing member G is combined with said handle,y as shown in Figures 1 and 3. The reinforcing member carry a pintle pin 9 on which the operating lever 'E is osclllatingly mounted, and 'said side pieces are rovided adjacent their up-y per ends with e ongated slots 10 that form a guideway for a pin 11 that connects the upper end of the vlink 1 to a metallic cap piece 12 on the lower end of the actuating rod D, thereby7 insuring said rod -moving in a straight hne when the lever E is operated to separateI or close lthe jaws'B ,and C of the tool.

i Means is provided-for locking the jaw B of the tool in its closed position or operative position, and in order to overcome the necessity of requiring a separate movement on the part of the lineman to lock said jaw, after the. lineman has actuated the lever E to,

clamp the wire, we have providedv the lever E with a sprin -actuated sleeve 16', which is so arranged t at it will move automatically into telescopic relationship with the lower end of the handle A when the lever E is moved into a position to draw'the jaw or member B of the tool towardsthe member C. As shown in-Figure 1 ofthe drawings, the lever E is provided with a portion 13 of substantially the same diameter and cross-sectional shape as the handle A of the tool, and the sleeve 16 is reciprocatingly mounted on the portion 13 and is acted upon by a spring 14 which normally,

exerts pressure on said sleeve in a-direct-ion tending to hold the upper end of same projected slightly beyond the end of the portion 13 on the lever E. When the lever E i's swung downwardly from the position shown in Figure 1 to cause the jaws of the tool to clamp the wire, the upper end of the sleeve 16 'strikes against an inclined surface 15 on the lower end of the handle A which acts as a cam to movethesleeve 16 longitudinally of the portion 13 on .the lever F in opposition to the spring 14, and after said lever E reaches such a position that the portion 13 thereon aligns with Vthe handle A, the sleeve 16 will move upwardly under the infiuence of the vspring14 into telescopic relation with the lower end of the handle A, thereby securely locking the lever E, the actuating rod I) and the wire gripping member or jaw B connected to said rod. When it is desired to release the wire t-he user has to move the sleeve 16 downwardly sufficiently to clear the lower end of the handle A, after which the lever E can be swung upwardly into the `position shown in Figure 1.

A linemans tool of the construction above described can be used/for picking up and handling hot wires of various diameters; it is of such design that it can be operated quickly and easily to grasp or release` a wire; it affords absolute protection to the user;it is strong and rugged enough to successfully withstand the rough usage to which such tools are subjected, and the parts of same are of simple design and are easy to assemble, thereby enabling the tool to be manufactured at a low cost.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A linemans tool, comprising a handle, a head piece on the upper end of said handle, a spring supported wire gripping member in said head piece, a reciprocating wire gripping member on said head piece, an operating lever at the lower end of said handle, and an actuating link on said handle for transmitting movement from said lever to said reciprocating wire gripping member i' and for insulating said lever from said member.

2. A linemans tool, comprising a handle, a head piece on the upper end of said handle, a plunger in said head piece that acts as a wire gripping member, a spring for backing up said plunger, a reciprocating wire gripping member having a portion arranged in opposed relation to said plunger, co-operating guiding means on said head lpiece and reciprocating member, an operatinv lever at the lower end of said handle, an an insulated actuating rod for connecting said lever with said reciprocating member.

3. A linemans tool, comprising a handle constructed of insulating material, a head v piece at the upper end of said handle provided with a tubular portion, a spring supof the handle, a link for connecting said le-l ver to said actuating rod, and a springpressed device on said lever arranged so as to co-operate with the handle to automatically lock said lever when said lever is actuated to cause the wire gripping members to clamp a wire.

4. A linemans tool, comprising a handle, opposed wire ripping members at the upper end of said5 handle, one of said gripping members being reciprocatingly mounted, an operating lever at the lower end of said handle, an insulated actuating rod for connecting said lever with .said reciprocatin wire gripping member, and an automatica y operating means for locking said lever to Sald handle when said wire gripping members are engaged with a wire.

MELVIN T. TIPSORD. HENRY W. BODENDIECK. 

